800 plain-language Q&As about family. Browse below, or search the whole library.
An open file, by itself, isn't proof of anything - it means a concern was reported and is being looked into, not that anything has been substantiated.…
Read the full answer →It can be, but recognition isn't automatic just because the arrangement was valid where it was made — Ontario applies its own parentage rules to…
Read the full answer →An accidental overpayment isn't automatically lost, but it also isn't something a payor can simply apply against future arrears on their own say-so.…
Read the full answer →A parent doesn't need a court's permission in advance to limit or end a grandparent's contact, and a fit parent's own judgment about who spends time…
Read the full answer →What happens next depends heavily on how the parenting coordination arrangement was set up, since the coordinator's own authority to enforce a decision…
Read the full answer →Independent legal advice for each party is a standard and strongly recommended part of a valid pre-conception parentage agreement, and its absence can…
Read the full answer →If intended parents separate before the child is born, the surrogacy arrangement doesn't automatically fall apart, but it does complicate how parentage…
Read the full answer →Once legal parentage has been established after a surrogacy birth — whether through the automatic route or a court declaration of parentage — it does…
Read the full answer →If a surrogate is married or has a partner, that spouse or partner generally also needs to be part of the process — the automatic parentage route…
Read the full answer →In reciprocal IVF, one partner's egg is fertilized and the resulting embryo is carried and delivered by the other partner, so the child has a genetic…
Read the full answer →Whether and when a parenting coordinator's appointment expires is generally a matter of what the parenting coordination agreement itself says, rather…
Read the full answer →This depends entirely on what authority the parents gave the coordinator in their parenting coordination agreement. Many agreements do give the…
Read the full answer →It isn't possible to state a reliable dollar figure for either option, since both depend heavily on the professional involved, how complex and frequent…
Read the full answer →A parenting coordinator's authority comes entirely from the agreement the parents sign when they retain one, so exactly what they can decide varies…
Read the full answer →Disputes about extracurricular activities are among the more common issues parenting coordination agreements are specifically designed to cover, since…
Read the full answer →A parenting coordinator generally isn't authorized to simply decide an issue that falls outside the scope set out in the parenting coordination…
Read the full answer →Because parenting coordinators typically come from professions like mental health practice, mediation, or law, many carry professional liability…
Read the full answer →A parenting coordinator can generally be brought in at either point, since the arrangement is created by the parents' own agreement rather than being…
Read the full answer →A parenting coordinator is a neutral professional — often a social worker, psychologist, or lawyer — who helps high-conflict families implement and…
Read the full answer →Parenting coordinators in Ontario typically come from one of two general professional backgrounds: mental health professionals, such as social workers…
Read the full answer →Parents generally do not need a court order to bring in a parenting coordinator; this is typically a private, consent-based arrangement the parents…
Read the full answer →If a parenting coordinator resigns before the arrangement's term is up, the parents are generally left needing to either find a replacement coordinator…
Read the full answer →Whether a parenting coordinator can be called to testify about a dispute they resolved generally depends on what the parenting coordination agreement…
Read the full answer →Because parenting coordination isn't governed by a dedicated Ontario statute, there isn't one uniform, legislated record-keeping requirement that…
Read the full answer →Yes. An existing parenting time order made under the Divorce Act or the Children's Law Reform Act doesn't get suspended automatically just because a…
Read the full answer →A standard Ontario parenting order does not include automatic police enforcement — police will not show up to enforce a schedule the way they enforce,…
Read the full answer →A separation agreement in Ontario should include a parenting plan that sets out how each parent will be involved in the children's lives after…
Read the full answer →When an uncontested divorce involves children under 19, you must provide the court with information about parenting arrangements as part of your…
Read the full answer →A parenting plan or separation agreement is generally an agreement between the child's own parents, so it can't impose a binding legal obligation…
Read the full answer →There's no legal requirement to include specific rules about introducing a child to a new partner's children in a parenting plan, but many parents…
Read the full answer →A parenting plan is a written agreement between parents that sets out how they will share time and responsibilities for their children after…
Read the full answer →If a society removes a child and places them in its own care - whether by agreement or court order - the existing parenting schedule between the two…
Read the full answer →A Children's Aid Society (CAS) investigation can significantly affect parenting time, at least temporarily. If CAS receives a report of concern about a…
Read the full answer →A child refusing to attend parenting time is one of the most difficult and emotionally charged situations in family law. The right response depends…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, denying parenting time without a valid reason is taken seriously by courts and can have legal consequences for the parent who is…
Read the full answer →Yes, significantly. Under the federal Divorce Act, family violence is a mandatory consideration in the best interests analysis. Courts must assess the…
Read the full answer →Holiday and summer schedules are almost always addressed separately from the regular parenting time schedule, because the stakes — long weekends,…
Read the full answer →Mental health is a factor courts consider when assessing a child's safety and wellbeing in the care of a parent, but a diagnosis alone does not…
Read the full answer →During your parenting time, decisions about who the child interacts with are generally yours to make. Introducing the child to a new partner, when done…
Read the full answer →Ontario family courts do not mandate any particular parenting schedule, and the right arrangement depends on the children's ages, both parents' work…
Read the full answer →Substance use by a parent is a serious concern in parenting proceedings because it directly affects the safety and wellbeing of a child in that…
Read the full answer →A children's aid society itself cannot suspend a family court parenting order - only a court can change an existing order. But a society raising a…
Read the full answer →Yes. Taking a child out of Canada typically requires either written consent from all parents with parenting rights or a court order authorizing the…
Read the full answer →Both arbitration and parenting coordination are voluntary, consent-based processes, so if the parents genuinely can't agree on who should fill either…
Read the full answer →It's possible, but not automatic. Reinstating a licence after a support-related suspension depends on satisfying the Family Responsibility Office that…
Read the full answer →Partial indemnity costs recover only a portion of a party's actual reasonable legal fees, and represent the default, more modest scale a court applies…
Read the full answer →A costs order that isn't paid becomes a debt owed to the other party, and it's generally enforced the same way any other unpaid court judgment would…
Read the full answer →If one party doesn't attend a scheduled case conference, the conference generally still goes ahead with the party who did show up, and the judge has…
Read the full answer →What happens generally depends on the arbitration agreement's own terms and the arbitrator's approach to managing the process, since there isn't one…
Read the full answer →Yes. Among the enforcement tools available to the Family Responsibility Office is the ability to pursue suspension of certain federal licences,…
Read the full answer →Yes, a documented history of under-reporting income is relevant evidence a court can consider in a new support application, since it goes directly to…
Read the full answer →Filing a motion to change doesn't automatically stop the Family Responsibility Office's enforcement of the existing order; the current support terms…
Read the full answer →Support obligations are treated differently from most ordinary debts when a payor declares bankruptcy. Generally, child and spousal support arrears are…
Read the full answer →Ignoring notices from the Family Responsibility Office doesn't make the underlying support obligation or the enforcement process go away; it generally…
Read the full answer →A pattern of frequent job changes, particularly where each move coincides with a support review or otherwise seems timed to keep income difficult to…
Read the full answer →A peace bond doesn't renew itself automatically once it expires — it's a time-limited order, and if the underlying safety concerns continue, the person…
Read the full answer →A peace bond is obtained under the Criminal Code by laying an information before a justice of the peace and showing reasonable grounds to fear that…
Read the full answer →Yes. In Ontario, pension benefits earned during the marriage are included in the net family property calculation and are subject to equalization. This…
Read the full answer →Yes, there are border-focused tools available in a genuine abduction risk case, generally requested through a family lawyer and often supported by a…
Read the full answer →Yes, pre-separation income history is usually one of the most important pieces of evidence courts consider when deciding whether to impute income after…
Read the full answer →The basic motion to change process is the same regardless of whether it deals with support or parenting time — both require showing a material change…
Read the full answer →When a motion to change is contested, it generally moves through a similar procedural path to other contested family court matters — the responding…
Read the full answer →Hospitals and clinics generally rely on the parents to provide the documentation that supports registering a birth under Ontario's parentage rules —…
Read the full answer →Once a writ of seizure and sale is filed to enforce a support debt, it can extend to personal property the payor owns, not just real estate. In general…
Read the full answer →Yes, and it is a good idea to do so. Ontario family courts strongly encourage parenting plans to address international travel because disputes about…
Read the full answer →A protection court's finding that a child was neglected or abused doesn't automatically become a family court parenting order - the two are separate…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario's legal system has several tools for protecting individuals from a spouse or partner during separation. Under the Family Law Act, you can…
Read the full answer →Yes — a restraining order or similar protection order made by an Ontario family court is valid and enforceable throughout the province, not just in the…
Read the full answer →Proving bad faith for costs purposes generally means showing a pattern of conduct that goes beyond ordinary hard-fought litigation — things like…
Read the full answer →Yes, one of the most common ways to resolve the matrimonial home is for one spouse to buy out the other. This involves determining the current market…
Read the full answer →Yes, demonstrating genuine, reasonable job search efforts is one of the strongest ways a parent can avoid having income imputed above their actual…
Read the full answer →Licence suspension works through the Family Responsibility Office's own enforcement process rather than as something a recipient triggers directly on…
Read the full answer →Yes, this is one of the main ways costs consequences arise in Ontario family court. Under the Family Law Rules, a formal written offer to settle can…
Read the full answer →Yes, you can refuse to sign a temporary care and custody agreement - it is not a court order, and a society cannot compel your signature. Refusing…
Read the full answer →Registering a foreign divorce or parenting order for enforcement in Ontario generally starts with providing the Ontario court with a certified copy of…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act sets out a process for registering a support order made in another Canadian province, territory, or a…
Read the full answer →In principle, Ontario's multi-parent provisions are not limited to a specific list of relationships — what matters is whether the adults involved…
Read the full answer →On its own, a religious council's ruling is not binding as a matter of Ontario family law. For a decision about parenting or property to count as an…
Read the full answer →Yes, but the bar is meaningful. A separation agreement that includes a geographic restriction on relocation — preventing you from moving beyond a…
Read the full answer →The federal Divorce Act applies only to married spouses who are divorcing. If you and your co-parent were never married, the Children's Law Reform…
Read the full answer →A separation agreement can include a relocation clause that sets out what happens if one parent wants to move — for example, requiring notice within a…
Read the full answer →Wanting to relocate to be near your family — parents, siblings, a support network — is a common and sympathetic reason to move. Courts recognize that a…
Read the full answer →If there is no existing parenting order or separation agreement and a parent moves away with a child, the other parent can apply urgently to the…
Read the full answer →Under the federal Divorce Act, a parent who intends to relocate must give written notice to anyone else with parenting time or contact at least 60 days…
Read the full answer →A new job offer is a legitimate reason to want to relocate, but it does not guarantee a court will allow you to bring your child. Courts applying the…
Read the full answer →A move within the same city generally does not trigger the formal relocation rules under the Divorce Act because it is unlikely to have a "significant…
Read the full answer →No. Remarriage, on its own, doesn't automatically change an existing decision-making responsibility or parenting time order or agreement - the existing…
Read the full answer →Marriage itself doesn't automatically change your legal name in Ontario — your legal name stays whatever it was before the marriage unless and until…
Read the full answer →The process for removing a parenting coordinator generally depends on what the parenting coordination agreement says about ending or changing the…
Read the full answer →A parent's rental property can genuinely reduce their guideline income where it operates at a real, ongoing cash loss, but courts generally scrutinize…
Read the full answer →Ontario family courts take a dim view of repeated motions brought without genuine new grounds, particularly where the pattern suggests an intent to…
Read the full answer →A parent can report a genuine safety concern about the other parent's home to a children's aid society at any time, including while a parenting trial…
Read the full answer →A parent can ask a children's aid society for updates about a file that's affecting their parenting time, but the society isn't obligated to share…
Read the full answer →Outside a genuine safety emergency, bringing a motion without notice to the other party is still possible in certain narrow circumstances under the…
Read the full answer →A restraining order itself is primarily about contact and communication — no-contact, stay-away, and similar safety conditions — but it can be combined…
Read the full answer →When a restraining order and a parenting order appear to conflict — for example, a no-contact condition that doesn't clearly account for a required…
Read the full answer →A restraining order is a civil family court order, available under the Family Law Act or the Children's Law Reform Act, that restricts a person's…
Read the full answer →Yes, in genuinely urgent situations. Ontario family courts can grant a temporary restraining order on a "without notice" basis — meaning the other…
Read the full answer →Yes, retroactive child support is possible in Ontario. Courts have authority to award support going back to a date before the application was filed —…
Read the full answer →Yes, courts in Ontario have the power to order retroactive spousal support — an amount for a period before you filed your formal application. However,…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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